"Dalibunga": At the Great Place

Although Mqhekezweni was not far from Qunu or Mvezo, the Great Place was
unlike anything young Mandela had ever known. The regent lived with his wife
and two children in a grand compound with Western-style buildings, huts, and
land for animals. Mandela shared sleeping quarters with the regent’s son,
Justice,
a boy four years his elder whom he both admired and liked. Mandela, Justice,
and the regent’s daughter all enjoyed the same privileges, responsibilities, and
treatment.
One of Mandela’s favorite jobs was ironing the shirts of the Regent, who
favored
Western-style clothing. Later, Nelson Mandela would often be described as
well
dressed, and he always appreciated fine clothes.
As the leader of the community, the regent was visited regularly by white
magistrates, police officers, and other traders and government officials, all of
whom respected him and whom he respected in turn. The regent held tribal
councils at which all important matters were discussed and he made important
decisions. Mandela was at first considered too young to attend such
gatherings,
but over the years he was increasingly allowed to witness them. He therefore
learned about diplomacy and leadership by watching the regent conduct his
affairs.
Mandela was especially impressed by one lesson in government that the
regent
taught him. The regent said that a leader was like a shepherd: he should keep
behind his flock while letting the most nimble members go forward, ahead of
the
rest. The others would follow, little knowing that they were in reality being
herded and directed by the person behind them. The regent’s method of
governing, through listening carefully and reaching consensus, made a great
impression on Mandela, who for the first time began to have ambitions beyond
being a great stick-fighter and athlete. From the regent, the young Mandela
also
heard more stories of great African warriors of the past, which made him
proud,
and tales of the white men’s aggression and unfairness, which made him angry.
At 16 years of age, Mandela and 25 other boys joined Justice, the regent’s son,
in undertaking the traditional ceremony of initiation into manhood. At the
“circumcision school,” a temporary camp of grass huts on the banks of the
Mbashe River, the boys lived together in the last days of their official boyhood
and celebrated by singing and dancing the night before the actual circumcision
ceremony. At that time, Mandela received a third name, “Dalibunga.” The
actual
circumcision was done outdoors at midday. The surgery was performed by
hand
and without anesthesia, and after each boy’s foreskin was cut, he called out
“Ndiyindoda!” (“I am a man!”). Dalibunga felt that it took him too many
seconds to make his victory cry, and he worried that he would seem less strong
than some of the others.
A few days later, at the end of the boys’ period of recovery and seclusion,
there
was a ceremony to welcome them as men into their society. On that occasion
Mandela received the first property he had ever owned: four sheep and two
heifers, of which he was very proud. He felt hopeful about his future as an
advisor, someone who helped the king or chief to sustain and lead the
community.